Rotary gas burner



Oct. 24, 1939. E. L. DENNIS ROTARY GAS BURNER Filed June 29, 1936 aShetsSheet 1 .E. L Jenni; MW D Gui-24,1939. E. L. DENNIS 2,177,245 IROTARY GAS BURNER Filed June 29, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. 172mm? SnowmanOct. 24, 1939. E, L, bENNIs 2,117,245

ROTARY GAS BURNER Filed June 29, "1936 s Sheets-Sheet s Patented Oct.24, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ao'raar ass BURNER Edwin'L. Dennis,Reserve, La. Application June 29, 1926. Serial No. 88,045

24 Claims.

obtains the delivery, for admixture with the gas,

of the properamounts of combustion-supporting air, butalso causes amechanical mixture of the gas and air so complete as to assuresubstantially instantaneous and complete combustion of the gas in thefurnace or other apparatus wherein the gas is burned.

Also according to my invention, the gas streams issue from the burner ata plurality of different radial distances from its axis of rotation,thus making the mechanical mixing effective over substantially theentire cross sectional area of the air stream, whereby the flame is ofuniform intensity throughout, without any "dead spots."

A further object of the invention is to provide a burner which mixes thegas and air so thoroughly as to eliminate the blow torch action usuallyinvolved in the'use of burners for'gas under pressure.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the detaileddescription thereof proceeds.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section illustrating one form of theburner of my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 2-2 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3-3 ofFigure 1;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section, to an enlarged scale, taken on theline of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the rotary ele- I ment of the apparatus,portions thereof being broken away and shown in section;

Figure 6 is a central vertical section illustrating a modified form ofthe invention;

Figure 7 is a section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line of Figure6;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevation of reaction turbine members formingparts of said modified form of burner, the anterior half of an enclosingcasing being removed to,illustrate details of construction;

Figure 9 is an elevation of a modified form of propeller adapted to besubstituted for the propellers shown in Figure 6; and

Figure 10 is a section taken on the line |'o- -|n of Figure 9.

Referring to m. 1, the rotary element, dealsnated 6, of my improvedburner is shown as mounted in a suitable casing I, the latter at itsinner portion, to the left of the rotary mixing device 6,communicating'in any desired manner with the combustion space of afurnace or the 5 like, not shown, wherein the gaseous mixture is burned.The air for Supporting such combustion is admitted to the casing I atthe latters right hand end; if desired, said right hand or outer and ofthe casing may be provided, as shown in 10 Fig. l, with means forregulating or controlling the amount of air admitted. However, sincethis air controlling means by itself is not the subject of the presentinvention, a detailed description thereof is unnecessary; it, issufllcient to note thatin the form here shown, said air controllingmeans embodies an annular member ll secured by bolts l2 to the end ofcasing I, said member Ii having a series of apertures I4, l4 thereinwith which are registerable similar apertures ll of a surroundingrotatable annular member I (see Fig. 2). The quantity of air admittedthus depends on the angular position to which the member I8 is adjusted;additional air may be admitted to the casing 1 by way of apertures I9 inend plate I 8 of member ll. A The mixture-forming member 6 is here shownas rotatably mounted on the inner end of a pipe or conduit 20, thelatter communicating at its otherend with a source of gas underpressure;

' said conduit 20 passes through an opening 2i of plate l8 and is heldand centered in the casing 1 by means of a spider 22, which fits snuglyin the casing-I, as shown in Figure l. A set screw 23 locks the conduit20 in the hub 24 of the spider 22. A port 2i is provided in the conduit20 and is screwthreaded to receive a suitable lubricator 26, whichfurnishes a small amount of lubricant to the gas stream; this lubricantis conveyed by the stream to lubricate the various moving parts of theburner contacted thereby.

The rotary device 8. is formed in part by a cupshaped member or hub 21mounted by ball bearings 2! to rotate on the outer periphery of theconduit 20. The otherimember 29 of device 6 is suitably connected by aflange 30 to the outer end of the hub member 21, to rotate therewith. Itwill ,be appa'rentthat the 'member 29 is, in

eifect a hollow shell or cup, opening directly to the gas under pressurein-the conduit 20', and 5 formingv a reservoir from which the gas isforced in various directions to be mixed mechanically with air drawninto the casing I by rotation of the devicei.

Extending radially from the rim of the memher 29 are a series of hollowarms 3|, 32, 33 and 34. In this case, onlyfour of these hollow arms areshown, although it is obvious that any desired number may be provided,to communicate with the interior of the member 23. These arms are hollowshells, suitably secured to the member 29 or they may be formed integraltherewith. They are designed to provide propeller blades 36 in theconventional manner of fan blades so as to cause, by their revolutions,a longitudinal movement of air through the casing I in quantitiesproportional to the speed ofrotation of the device 6.

The rotation of said device 6 is in response to or by way of reaction tothe issuance of streams of gas under pressure from the several arms 3|32, 33 and 34, the gas discharging into casing I through certainorifices which are of the requisite size, number and arrangement tofurnish the desired amount of fuel to the combustible mixture. It willbe understood, of course, that the gas conduit 20 may be provided withthe usual regulating valve (not shown) which is operable to control thepressure and amount oft gaseous fuel which issues from the orifices ofthe rotating device 6. In the embodiment of my invention shown by Figs.1 to 5 inclusive, I have provided the device 6 with three differentkinds or types of gas-discharging orifices, as follows:

A series of radially spaced orifices 35 is drilled or otherwise formedin each of the hollow arms 3|, 32, 33 and 34, all these orifices 35being substantially in a common plane transverse to the axis of rotationof the device 6, and arranged on corresponding sides or surfaces of theseveral arms, as indicated in Figure 3 of the drawings. These orifices35, being substantially tangential to the rotation imparted by theissuing gas streams, may be considered as the main propelling orificeswhich, by their direction, diameter and spacing from the axis ofrotation determine in large measure the direction and speed of rotationof the device 6 as a whole.

The .air propelling wings or fan blades 36 are here shown as integralwith the hollow arms 3|, 32, 33 and 34, but obviously my invention isnot limited to this arrangement; according to my invention, said bladesor wings 36 may be attached to the rotating structure 6 in any way or atany place desired,so long as they serve their function of causing theflow through casing I of an adequate supply of combustion-supporting airin a current or stream which cuts the gas streams issuing from orifices35, 35 substantially at right angles.

A second series of radially spaced apertures 31, drilled or otherwiseformed at appropriate angles to the orifices 35 in each of the hollowarms 3|, 32, 33 and 34, may be considered primarily as fi0w orificesintended not so much to produce rotation of the device 6 as, to directgreater amounts of gas into the casing I than would escape through themain propelling orifices 35. Finally, a series of orifices 38, formed inthe member 29, serve to eliminate "drag at the center of the burner, dueto any degree of vacuum exerted at this center by the fan action of theblades and the rush of gas into the casing I. Since the burner unitrotates normally at high speed, the gas escaping through the orifices 36actually forms a cone rather than single'jetsf and this formation, addedto the fan effect, assures very rapid mechanical mixing of the air andgas. The orifices 31 may also be considered as compensating orifices forthe admission of gas, in excess of the gas that would flow into thecasing through the propelling orifices 35, in amounts which wouldproportion the total flow of gas from orifices 35, 31 and 38 to ensurepropercombustion by the immediate mixing of this gas,

' between member 21 and the conduit 20 will be directed forwardly intothe zone of gas and air admixture occupied by the revolving hollow arms3|, 32, 33 and 34.

In this zone of admixture, the mass of propelled air passing lengthwiseof the casing I has mingled very intimately with it the gaswhich isissuing in numerous relatively fine streams from the orifices 35, 31 and38; the number and distribution or location of these orifices and thefact that they are carried rapidly around and around by the motion ofthe device 6, makes the zone of admixture practically coextensive withthe cross sectional area of the casing I. The interminglifig of the twoingredients, air and gas, to form the combustible mixture takes place inthis zone almost instantly, and in a practically uniform mannerthroughout,being assisted and promoted not only by the travel in acircular path of each issuing gas stream, but also by the fact that thezone of admixture is being constantly traversed by the arms 3|, 32, 33and 34 themselves. The number, size, arrangement and direction of thegas-discharging orifices of the device 6 can be varied over aconsiderable range to best meet the requirements of diflerent kinds andgrades of gaseous fuels, but once these relations for a given fuel areestablished, the burner can be depended upon to produce invariably thedesired homogeneous and uniform admixture of air and gas, regardless offluctuations in the pressure or amount of gaseous fuel supplied thereto,since the quantity of air drawn through the casing by the fan blades 36is always substantially proportional to the amount of gas issuing fromthe discharge orifices of device 6.

In actual practice it has been found that with my improved burner thereis no need to make provision for any secondary combustion, as themixture formed at or just beyond the rotating hollow arms 3|, 32, 33,and 34 burns instantly and without visible flame, even in a coldfurhace. Due to this complete mixing with attendant dissipation of thepressure of the gas, the [burner operates very quietly and with totalelimination of furnace vibration. In the furnace the combustion mixtureignites and spreads out in a fan shaped area, due to the great increasein volume on ignition, and this eliminates what is known as blow torchaction, which has always been present heretofore in furnaces equippedwith burners using high pressure gas.

The burner described herein reduces the size of conduits required withinthe furnace room, since it is capable of burning gas at pressure as highas any gas main carries; and may be reg:

In the modification shown in Figures 6 to 8,

screwthreaded stud 48 projecting axially thereinclusive, the conduit 26replaces the conduit 26 of the first for mof the invention. The burnerhead designated generally by the reference numeral 4| comprises a shellformed of members 42 and 43, provided with cooperating outwardlydirected flanges 44 and 45' suitably secured to each other. The conduit26' is shouldered to form a seat for a ball bearing 46, secured against.said shoulder by a lock nut 41.

The .lnner closed end of conduit 20' has a from to form a shoulderseating the ball bearing 43, which is clamped against said shoulder by anut 43'. An annular spacer disk is secured to the" outer race member ofthe bearing 49, and is provided with apertures 5| leading to a chamber52 formed between the disk 50 and the end wall of shell portion 43. Aseries of apertures 53 in this end wall permit the escape of gas intothe casing I.

The conduit 26 is provided with any desired number of radial apertures54 leading to the inlet side of reaction turbine blades 55, 56, 51 and58, secured in alternation to the conduit 20' and the shell formed bymembers 42 and 43. The wall of the chamber 53 formed in the member 43 isprovided with radial apertures 66 through which the gas is dischargedradially outward into the casing I.

The gas under .pressure passing through the turbine blading, as shown inFigure 8, causes rotation of the burner headp To said head, as shown byFig. 6, are secured a series of radial fan or propeller blades 6|, 6|,and these by their rotation draw into the casing I the necessary amountof combustion-supporting air for admixture with the gas dischargedthrough the apertures 53 and 66. The various apertures exhaust the gasat all angles, from zero to right angles relative to the axis ofrotation of the burner, and this insures athorough mixing of the ,gaswith the air of combustion drawn into the casing by the propeller or fanblades 6|. These propellers 6| may, if desired, be replaced by thehollow propellers 62 (Figs. 9 and 10) having gasdischarging 'slits 63formed therein. Where these hollow propellers are used, the member 43,to which they are attached, will be provided with apertures 64 to permitthe gas to pass into the propellers for discharge through the slits 63.This gas discharge through slits 63 promotes and assists theintermingling of thegas with the combustion-supporting air, but is notrelied upon to produce by reaction the rotation of the burner head.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be considered aslimited to the specific construction and arrangement described herein,since it is evident that many changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of, the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1..A-gas burner comprising a cylindrical casing adapted to be connectedto a furnace, a cylindrical conduit connected to a source of gas underpressure and extending axially into said oasing, a reaction wheelrotatable within said casing about the axis of said conduit and havingsubstantially the same diameter as the bore of said casing, and means onsaid wheel for drawing air axially into said-casing and transverselythrough the propelling gas issuing from said wheel into the spacebetween said conduit and casing. v

2. A gas burner adapted to be connected to a furnace and comprising acylindrical casing, a

cylindrical conduit for gas. under pressure extending axially into saidcasing, a reaction wheel rotatable within said casing on the end of saidconduit, said wheel having substantially the same diameter as the boreof said casing and comprising a plurality of propeller shells, theinterior of each shell communicating with said conduit, and providedwith a row of orifices extending radially outward from said conduit andlying in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said casing and con- (hitand operating to rotate said burner about said axis, an air chamberconnected to said casing around said conduit, means on said shells fordrawing air from. saidchamber in excess of the natural draft of saidfurnace to mix with the gas under pressure issuing from said shells, andmeans for controlling the quantity of air drawn through said chamber.

3. A gas burner comprising a cylindrical casing adapted to be connectedto a furnace, a reaction wheel connected to a source of gas underpressure and mounted for rotation within said casing about the axisthereof by the pressure of said gas, the diameter of said wheel beingsubstantially equal to that of the bore of said casing, and means onsaid wheel for drawing air into said casing in excess of the naturaldraft of the furnace and in a direction transverse to that of the gasissuing from and rotating said wheel.

4. A gas burner comprising a cylindrical casing adapted to be connectedto a furnace, a cylindrical conduit extending axially into said casingand connected to a source of gas under pressure, a reaction wheelhavinga diameter substantially equal to that of the bore of said casingand mounted for rotation on the end of said conduit within the casingand comprising a plurality of propeller shells, the interior of eachshell communicating with said conduit and being provided with aperturesspaced apart from each other radially with respect to said conduit, andfan blades on said shells for forcing an inflow of air across said wheeland into said casing in excess of the natural draft of the furnace.

5. A gas burner comprising a cylindrical casing adapted to be connectedto a furnace, a cylindrical conduit extending axially into said casingand connected to a source of gas under pressure, a reaction wheel havinga diameter substantially equal to that of the bore of said casing andmounted for rotation on the end of said conduit within the casing andcomprising a cup shaped head having its interior communicating with saidconduit, means for mounting said head for rotation about the axis ofconduit, shells extending radially from said head, the interior of eachshell communicating with the interior of said head and having a row oforifices formed theremechanism connected to one end of said casing andadjustable to control the supply of air into said casing, a cylindricalconduit extending through, said damper mechanism axially into saidcasing, a reaction wheel having substantially the same diameter as thebore of said casing and comprising a cup-shaped head, the interior ofwhich communicates with the interior of said conduit, mounted to rotateabout the axis of said conduit, propeller shells extending radially fromsaid head, the interior of each shell being in communication with saidhead and being provided with apertures spaced apart radially and lyingin a plane perpendicular to the axis of said conduit to effect rotationof the head by the reaction pressure of the gas issuing from saidapertures, said shells being provided with blades for drawing airthrough said damper mechanism in excess of the normal inflow of airinduced by the natural draft of the furnace.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 5, in which each of the shells'isprovided with other apertures extending substantially parallel to theaxis of said conduit.

8. The apparatusset forth in claim 6 in which each of said shells isprovided with other apertures spaced apart-radially from the axis ofsaid conduit and extending in directions substantially parallel to saidaxis.

9. The apparatus set forth in claim 6, in which each of said shells. isprovided with other apertures spaced apart radially from the axis ofsaid conduit and extending in directions substantially parallel tosaidaxis, and in which said head is provided with apertures extendingsubstantially parallel to said axis.

10. A gas burner comprising a cylindrical casing adapted to be connectedto a furnace, a reaction wheel having substantially the same diameter'asthe bore of said casing and connected to a source of gas under pressureand mounted on said casing for rotation by the pressure of said gas andconstructed to discharge the gas into the casing in a planeperpendicular to the axis thereof, and means on said wheel for forcingair of combustion through the gas in said casing in a direction parallelto the axis thereof.

11. The apparatus set forth in claim 10, in which the source of gasunder pressure includes valve controlled means for introducing alubricant into the gas during its passage towards said burner.

12. A gas burner comprising a pair of conmntric tubes the outer tubebeing in communication with the atmosphere and the inner tube beingconnected to a source of gas under pressure, and means mounted on theinner tube to rotate within the space between the inner and outer tubes,for delivering gas from the inner tube into said space and rotated bythe pressure of the gas to draw air from the atmosphere into said spaceto effect homogeneous and uniform mixing of the gas and air within saidspace over the entire plane of rotation of said means.

of the inner tube to rotate within the outer tube,

and discharging gas from the inner tube into the space between saidtubes and rotatable by the pressure of the gas so discharged to draw airfrom the atmosphere into said space to effect homogeneous and uniformmixture of the gas and air within said space over the entire plane ofrotation of said reaction wheel.

14. A gas burner' comprising a casing having its interior incommunication with the atmosphere and adapted to be connected to afurnace,

a tube arranged substantially centrally of said casing and connected toa source of gas under pressure, a plurality of hollow arms communicatingwith and in substantially radial relation to said tube, each arm provi asubstantially tangential discharge of the gas under pressure into saidcasing, whereby to produce by reaction the rotation of said arms aboutthe axis of said tube, and means connected to said arms, and rotating inthe space between said casing and said tube for moving air through said.casing in a direction substantially transverse to the discharge intosaid casing of the gas under pressure from said arms.

15. In a burner for gaseous fuel supplied under pressure, a hollowdevice receiving the gas and arranged to be rotated by the pressuredischarge of said gas therefrom, said device providing a multiplicity ofgas-discharge apertures in spaced relation at different radial distancesfrom its axis of rotation, and means including an air propellerconnected to and rotating in unison with said device for directing intoadmixture with the gas issuing from said apertures a current ofcombustion-supporting ail, substantially coextensive cross-sectionallywith the area over which said gas discharges are effective.

16. In a burner for gaseous fuel supplied under pressure, a hollowdevice receiving the gas and arranged to be rotated by the pressuredischarge of said gas therefrom, and air-impelling means coaxial withsaid device and rotating in unison therewith for providing a current ofcombustionsupporting air in a direction substantially crosswise of theplane of rotation of said device, the latter having gas-dischargeapertures arranged in radially-spaced relation substantially from. axisto periphery, to make the gas discharges efiective over substantiallythe entire cross-sectional area of said air current.

17. In a burner for gaseous fuel supplied under pressure, a rotatablymounted hollow member receiving said gas and having a multiplicity ofgasdischarge orifices, certain of said orifices in a plane substantiallytransverse to said member's axis of rotation being tangentiallydirected, whereby the gas streams issuing therefrom produce by reactionthe rotation of said member, and air-propelling means connected to saidmember and rotating in unison therewith for supplyingcombustion-supporting air in a current substantially coextensivecross-sectionaliy with the area over which the gas discharges from saidmultiplicity of orifices are effective.

18. In a burner for gaseous fuel supplied under pressure, a hollowrotary gas distributing member having a plurality of substantiallyradial hol- 7 low arms, said member and' its arms providing amultiplicity of gas discharging orifices at different radial distancesfrom the axis of rotation of said member, and air-propelling meansconnected to said member and rotating in unison therewith for supplyingcombustion-supporting air for admixture with the gas streams issuingfrom said orifices in a current which is cut trans-' versely in the zoneof admixture-by said rotating hollow arms.

19. In a burner for gaseous fuel, a casing having its interiorcommunicating with the atmosphere and adapted to be connected to afurnace or the like, a tubular member arranged substan tially centrallyof said casing and connected to the gas supply, a plurality ofhollowarms radiating from said tubular member and communicating interiorlytherewith, each arm providing a multiplicity of gas-discharging orificesspaced along its length, means for rotating said arms about the axis ofsaid tubular member, and means gas streams issuing from said orifices ina current which is cut transversely in the zone of admixture by saidrotating hollow arms.

20. In a burner for gaseous fuel supplied under pressure, a rotatablymounted hollow member receiving said gas and having a multiplicity ofgas-discharge orifices arranged in spaced relation at diiferent radialdistances from the axis of rotation of said member, certain of saidorifices in a plane substantially transverse to said axis beingtangentially directed, whereby the gas streams issuing therefrom produceby reaction the rotation of said member, and means in-, cluding an airpropeller connected to and rotating in unisonwith said member forsupplying combustion-supporting air in a current substantiallycoextensive cross-sectionally with the area over which the gasdischarges from said multipllcity of orifices are effective.

21. In a burner for gaseous fuel supplied under pressure, a casinghaving its interior communicating with the atmosphere and adapted to beconnected to a furnace or the like, a tubular member arrangedsubstantially centrally of said casing and connected to the gas supply,a plurality of hollow arms radiating from said tubular member andcommunicating interiorly therewith, each arm providing a multiplicity ofgas-discharging orifices spaced along its length, certain of saidorifices in a plane substantially transverse to the axis of said tubularmember being tangentially directed, whereby the gas streams issuingtherefrom produce by'reaction the rotation of said arms, and meansresponsive to such rotation for propelling combustion-supporting airinto ad-l mixture with the gas streams issuing from said orifices in acurrent which is cut transversely in the zone of admixture by saidrotating hollow arms.

22. A gas burner comprising a substantially cylindrical casing, a gasconduit therein extending axially thereof, a gas distributing devicerotatable within said casing on the end of said conduit, saiddistributing device comprising a shell rotatably mounted on andinclosing one end of said conduit, and turbine blades fixed inalternating annular rows to said conduit and shell respectively, andoperating by pressure of said gas to rotate the shell, said shell beingprovided with apertures to conduct the exhaust gases from said turbineblades into said casing.

23. A gas burner comprising a cylindrical casing, a gas conduitextending axially into said casing, a gas distributing device rotatablewithin said casing on the end of said conduit, said distributing devicecomprising a shell rotatably mounted on said conduit and in connectiontherewith, turbine blades flxed in alternating annular rows to saidconduit and shellrespectively, and operating by pressure of said gas torotate the shell on said conduit, said shell being providedwith'apertures to conduct the exhaust gases from said turbine bladesinto said casing, and means on said shell for propellingcombustion-supporting air into admixture with the gas delivered throughsaid apertures.

24. A gas burner comprising a substantially cylindrical casing, a gasconduit extending axially into said casing, a gas distributing memberrotatable within said casing on the end of said conduit, saiddistributing member comprising a shell rotatably mounted on said conduitand in com munication therewith, turbine blades fixed in alternatingannular rows to said conduit and shell respectively, and operating bypressure of the gas to' rotate the shell on said conduit, said shellbeing provided with apertures by which the gas exhausted from saidturbine blades is delivered into said casing, and hollow propellersfixed to said shell and communicating with the interior thereof, saidpropellers having gas-discharging apertures therein and serving for thedelivery 01' combustion-supporting air into admixture with the gasissuing from said shell apertures and from said propeller apertures.

EDWIN L. DENNIS.

